Golf club or putter



0- A. J. SANDERSON v GOLF CLUB 0R PUTTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1, 1938 ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1940. .A. J. $ANDERSON GOLF CLUB 0R PUTTER Filpd April 1, 19-38 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR AFC/175410 fA/VDERJON ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 27, 1940 Archibald J. Sanderson, Scarborough, N. Y. Application April 1, 1938, Serial o. 199,336?

1 Claim.

This invention relates to golf clubs, and more particularly to the type of club known as a putter. It is an object of this invention to provide a putter which will enable the user of the'club t obtainmore direct sight from the eyes to' the ball and hole, than has heretofore been possible with golf clubs which are acceptable to thegame.

With the ordinary straight shaft putter it is necessaryforthe player to stand at one side of the line fromthe ball to, thehole so that the line of .flight of the ball is necessarily observed from an angle. vIt is therefore impossible to be certain of the exact line and mistakes are frequently made. i In the case of short putts partion, whereby it is possible for the player to view the line of the putt very marked.

directly over such line, are

"The invention generally contemplates the provision of a putter having a conventional head form of any desired. type, eitherwood or metal,

and havihga shaft arising from the head, prefin such a way that the player, while gripping the club conventionally, may assume a stance which will bring his eyes indirectline with the ball andhole, the bending or curvature of the shaft being such that the club may be swung in the desired line without interference with the legs or feet of the player. In the preferred manner of use of the improved club the ball will be played from the position near the inside of the left foot, the club head beingswung back inside of the left legpreparatory to making the, stroke, the bent shaft and gripof the club extending partly in front of the left leg sothat the club may be gripped with the hands in front of or even slight- 1y to the left of the left leg. In addition to the advantage provided in the alignment of the eyes of the player with the line of flight of the ball to the hole, it is considerably easier for the player to control the follow through of the club head on a direct line with the line of flight and thus the customary difiiculties resulting from deviation of the follow through from this line when the ordinary putter is used are obviated. The putting stroke is similar to the normal putting stroke, except that owing to the curvature of the shaft it is possible for the player to stand more or less facing the hole, and that the eye is inline with the line which the putt is to take.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a putter which will enable the player to play the ball between his feet, while holding the club handle over or outside of'one leg, substantially in a conventional manner.

Further objects and advantages will appear from the description below together with the drawings which illustrate certain preferred forms of my invention, and in which Figure l is a perspective view showing a preferred'way of playing the ball with the improved putter, the view being taken facing the player;

Figure 2 isa side view of the player illustrating positions, of the club during the the various stroke; r I

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the club looking at theface of the club head; Figure-4 is a rear elevation of the club; Figure 5 is a plan view of the club head; Figure 6 is a cross sectional view through the grip takenon line 6-6 of Figure 4-looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure? is a viewsimilar to Figure 4 of an optional form of the invention; and

Figures 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views showing optional stances and methods of putting with the improved club. j g

The drawings are intended for purposesfof illustration and example only, it being understood that the invention may be-emb'odied in various modified forms differing from the precise construction shown herein, while still embodying the spirit of the invention. a

, The construction of a preferred form of the putter is best illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The

putter comprises substantially a conventional of the club face. The shaft [2 extends,- in the form of club shown in Figure i, in a straight line to a point M where the maximum distance from the vertical plane occurs. At this point, which may be on the grip of the club, it curves back and crosses the vertical plane at it, the end of the grip being well back of this plane. This bend or angle, shown at It in Figure 4, we may describe as the first bend or angle of the club shaft.

In Figure 3 the broken line I 1 indicates a plane perpendicular to the planes of the face, and sole of the club head and passed substantially through tion of the plane H or toward the toe of the club head'and then-swinging back through the plane of axis I8 toward the heel of the club head so that the end 20 of the grip is substantially outside of the plane of axis l8. We may for convenience call this the second angle or bend of the club shaft.

It should be noted that the'deviation of the shaft and handle from the plane is considerably greater than the deviation from the plane of axis i8 and in orderto obtain theadvantages of this invention, it is ordinarily necessary that this difference in deviation from these two planes exist, though variations may be made in the, ex: tent of the deviation to suit the needs of the individual user of the club.. 2

The use of a .club having this construction is best illustrated in Figure 1, which shows a player in the act of using the club. The club is shown,

in the hands 22 of the player, an overlapping grip being preferable, but-inno sense necessary,

as this may be adjusted 'to' s'uitthe needs of the individual player; f It is assumed in this figure, and in Figure 2 that the player is right handed. A stance maybe taken over the ball 23 withthe left foot entending'substantially in a lineparallel to the line between the hole and the ball, and the right foot being in a rearward position extending'at an acute angle away from-this line, the ball being substantially between the two feet of the player, a'nda" lin'e drawh froni' the to the ball passing'in or near the righ't'heel of theplayer. When the face of the club head addresses the ball with the plane of the face] able swing of the club is possible betweenthe legs I of the player as more particularly shown in Figure 2, but the club nevertheless is grasped overor I outside of the leg of the player and therefore involves a true golf stroke as distinguished from the type of' stroke which could be made with a mallet ormallet type-club. When held in the mannerdesc'ribed' the club head is caused to I travefover a line drawn from the hole to the ball, and since the eyes of the player are directly in line with this line, and with the path of the club head, it is possible to obtain a degree of accuracy in putting which is not p'ossible'when using a conventional straight shafted club.

' "In Figure 5 is shown an additional aid to the alignment of the ball, hole and eyes. These are markers'tti which are located on the upper surface of the club head in two lines perpendicular to the plane of the face of the club head. In using the club these lines will be substantially in the line of movement of the clubhead and in the line of flight of the ball to the hole. These markers are preferably in the form of spots and may be produced in any'suitable manner, as for instance by inserting pegs of contrasting color in the holes in the club. In addition to the'two parallel lines of markers 25 a centrally located marker close to the face of the club is'preferably provided and if desired the face of the'club may be provided with two lines of markers 27 diverging downwardly from a point adjacent to the central top marker 26, as clearly shown in Figure 3.

While it is possible to use the club with a grip round in cross section, it is preferable to make the grip of some irregular shape so that the club may be certain to be located securely in the hands of the player. I have found that a desirable form of grip is that illustrated particularly in Figure 6 in which the grip is given a flattened or oval shape with the longer axis of the oval in a plane substantially'at right angles to theplane of the face of the club.

Use of the club is not necessarily limited to the stance shown in Figures 1 and 2. Thus Figure 8 shows a conventional stance, the feet of the playerbeing inore'or less perpendicular to the line of night of the ball to the hole, this stance being such as would be used with an ordinary putter. The improvedputter may be, satisfactorily used with' such' a stance, although when so used full advantage of the improved design is not obtained 7 In Figure 9 "isshown a stance in'which the right foot is brought up more or less parallel to the positionof theleft footshown in Figure l, and the ball played very closely off the toe of the right'foot. When'the ball is played in this manner it is possible for theplayer to place the hole and get a good view of the projected lineof the putt,falthough the eyes would not ordinarily be directly in line with the line of the putt.

We have described in some detail the angles which are present'iri'the form of club shown in Figures 3 and lj'This, however, i's'not intended where it is held by the handle of the user and the face and sole of the club, is the same as, in

the form of club shown in Figures 3 and 4.

While Ihave illustrated and described in detail certain preferred forms of my invention, it

is to be understood that changes may be made therein and the'invention embodied in other structures. I do not, therefore,- desire to limit myself to the specific constructions illustrated, but intend to cover my invention broadly in whatever form its principle may be utilized.

Iclaim: A golf putter comprising a club head, a shaft, and a grip, theclub head having a bottom and a striking face, the shaft extendingupwardlyand forwardly from the heel of the club head so that the major portion 'of the shaft is disposed in front of the head when the head is resting on its bottom, the grip extending upwardly from the upper end of the shaft at an angle directed rearwardly from the face of the cluband outwardly from the heel of the club, and passing through a planeperpendicular to the bottom of the head and including the. longitudinal central line thereof, the angular displacements of the grip being such that the ball may be addressed by a swing of the club head along a lineextending between the players feet while the shaft and grip extend across a leg of the player, the end of the grip lying to one side of the bodyof the player.

ARCHIBALD J SANDERSON. 

